A Chronology of Jazz Music

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1828	Thomas "Daddy" Rice's Jim Crow becomes the first international hit ever
1843	The Virginia Minstrels define the standard of the minstrel show
1865	The first black minstrel group, the Georgia Minstrels, is formed
1873	James Bland becomes the first major black songwriter
1885	Benjamin Franklin Keith and Edward Franklin Albee partner to create a nation-wide chain of vaudeville theaters
1897	Tom Turpin publishes the first piano rag, Harlem Rag
1898	Bob Cole's A Trip to Coontown is the first musical comedy entirely produced and performed by blacks
1905	Ernest Hogan's black orchestra, the Memphis Students, debuts on Broadway
1907	Florenz Ziegfeld's revue "Ziegfeld Follies" debuts
1909	James Europe founds the "Clef Club"
1910	Bert Williams becomes the first black to be the protagonist of the "Ziegfeld Follies"
1915	Vernon and Irene Castle open New York's first cabaret, "Sans-Souci" Jelly Roll Morton's Jerry Roll Blues is the first published piece of jazz music
1916	Charles "Luckey" Roberts is the first Harlem pianist to be recorded
1917	James Johnson pioneers stride piano A white band, the Original Dixieland Jass Band, makes the first recording of "dixieland jazz" recording
1918	Joe "King" Oliver moves to Chicago King Oliver leaves New Orleans for Chicago White singer Al Jolson debuts the blackface character "Gus" James Europe's orchestra Hellfighters tours Europe Okeh releases its first record, by the New Orleans Jazz Band
1919	Will-Marion Cook's orchestra introduces Chicago to the syncopated music of New York Will-Marion Cook's orchestra tours Europe Kid Ory's Creole Orchestra cuts the first instrumental record by a black orchestra The Original Dixieland Jass Band exports jazz to Britain
1920	Mamie Smith makes the first blues recording
1921	Eubie Blake's Shuffle Along is the first musical entirely produced and performed by blacks
1922	Louis Armstrong moves to Chicago Kid Ory makes the first recording by a black jazz ensemble
1923	Coleman Hawkins moves to New York as a member of Mamie Smith's band and joins Fletcher Henderson's orchestra A blues interpreted by black singer Bessie Smith becomes a national best-seller The "Cotton Club" opens in Harlem Fletcher Henderson forms a big band in New York
1924	Classical composer George Gershwin premieres the jazz composition Rhapsody in Blue performed by the Paul Whiteman orchestra
1925	Louis Armstrong forms the Hot Five
1926	Lew Leslie stages the "Blackbirds Revue" with an all-black cast Louis Armstrong popularizes scat singing The "Savoy" opens in Harlem
1927	Bix Beiderbecke joins the Paul Whiteman orchestra Duke Ellington's shows at the "Cotton Club" are broadcast live The "Onyx Club" opens in New York The first talking movie is titled "The Jazz Singer"
1929	Kansas City guitarist Eddie Durham experiments with proto-amplifiers
1931	Duke Ellington's Creole Rhapsody (1931) takes both sides of a 7" record Bix Beiderbecke dies Buddy Bolden dies
1932	Louis Armstrong tours Europe A Duke Ellington hit features the word "swing" in the title
1934	The magazine "Down Beat" is founded A Cab Calloway hit gives a name to swing dancing, "jitterbug' The "Apollo" night-club opens in Harlem
1935	Duke Ellington releases the 13-minute Reminiscing in Tempo, the longest jazz pieces yet committed to a record A concert by the Benny Goodman orchestra at the "Palomar Ballroom" in Los Angeles is broadcast live Benny Goodman makes recordings with a racially integrated trio
1936	William "Count" Basie organizes the Barons of Rhythm in Kansas City with Lester Young
1937	Dizzy Gillespie tours Europe Bessie Smith dies Duke Ellington's Caravan debuts Afro-Cuban rhythms in a swing context
1938	King Oliver dies Commodore, one of the first independent jazz labels, is founded by Milt Gabler
1939	Coleman Hawkins' Body And Soul redefines the jazz ballad Blue Note is founded by German emigre Alfred Lion Ma Rainey dies
1941	Jelly Roll Morton dies Sidney Bechet pioneers overdubbing when he plays six instruments on Sheik of Araby Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke jam at Milt Minton's "Playhouse" in a new style, bebop
1942	Charlie Christian dies Savoy is founded by Herman Lubinsky
1943	Fats Waller dies
1944	Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan constitute the nucleus of Billy Eckstine's band The word "bebop" is first used to promote Dizzy Gillespie's quintet Verve is founded by Norman Granz
1945	Miles Davis records with Charlie Parker
1947	Dizzy Gillespie records George Russell's Cubana Be Cubana Bop, the first modal improvisation Gil Evans becomes Miles Davis' arranger Dizzy Gillespie pioneers Afro-Cuban jazz GNP Crescendo is founded by Gene Norman
1948	Discovery is founded by Albert Marx
1949	Lennie Tristano records two completely improvised free-form jams, Intuition and Digression Miles Davis' nonet inaugurates "cool jazz" New Jazz (later Prestige) is founded by Bob Weinstock Metronome is founded in Sweden
1950	Vanguard is founded by Maynard and Seymour Solomon
1952	The Modern Jazz Quartet is formed to play chamber jazz Fletcher Henderson dies Pacific Jazz is founded by Richard Bock and Roy Harte
1953	Lennie Tristano records the dissonant Descent into the Maelstrom Sun Ra founds his Arkestra Horace Silver's Opus De Funk introduces the word "funk" in music Delmark is founded by Bob Koester in Chicago Django Reinhardt dies Riverside is founded by Bill Grauer and Orrin Keepnews
1954	Art Blakey and Horace Silver form the Jazz Messengers and coin "hard bop"
1955	Charlie Parker dies at 35 John Coltrane joins Miles Davis' quintet "Voice of America" begin broadcasting Willis Conover's jazz program for Soviet Union Leonard Feather's "Encyclopedia of Jazz" is published
1956	Clifford Brown dies Marshall Stearns' "The Story of Jazz" is published by Oxford University Press Art Tatum dies Youstol Dispage dies
1958	The Monterey Jazz Festival is started by Jimmy Lyons Jim Hall coins the term "instant composition" to describe jazz improvisation
1959	Dave Brubeck's Time Out (1959) becomes the first million-selling jazz record Ornette Coleman launches free jazz with The Shape of Jazz to Come Sidney Bechet dies Lester Young dies Billie Holiday dies
1960	Eric Dolphy joines Ornette Coleman Betty Carter uses the voice as an instrument on The Modern Sound Impulse is founded by by producer Creed Taylor
1961	Horace Tapscott founds the Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension or Underground Musicians' Association (UGMA) in Los Angeles Ravi Shankar and Bud Shank mix jazz and Indian music
1962	Stan Getz sparks interest in bossanova Free-jazz musicians travel to Europe Sunny Murray abandons rhythm
1963	Archie Shepp and Don Cherry form the New York Contermporary Five Tony Oxley, Derek Bailey and Gavin Bryars form the trio Joseph Holbrooke ESP is founded by Bernard Stollman
1964	Don Cherry moves to Europe John Coltrane adopts Coleman's free jazz for Ascension Michael Mantler founds the Jazz Composer's Orchestra Association (JCOA) Guenter Hampel, Manfred Schoof and Alexander von Schlippenbach formed a quintet in Germany Tony Scott records Music For Zen Meditation, a collaboration with a koto player and a shakuhachi flute player The October Revolution in Jazz festival heralds free-jazz John Coltrane cuts the four-movement multi-ethnic mass A Love Supreme Eric Dolphy dies
1965	The Chicago Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians is formed in Chicago John Stevens founds the Spontaneous Music Ensemble in Britain
1966	Bud Powell dies Roscoe Mitchell releases the first album of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) Alexander Von Schlippenbach forms the Globe Unity Orchestra Milestone is founded by Orin Keepnews
1967	Anthony Braxton forms a trio with violinist Leroy Jenkins and trumpeter Leo Smith, the Creative Construction Company Roscoe Mitchell's group is renamed Art Ensemble Of Chicago Willem Breuker, Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg found the Instant Composer's Pool in Holland The first Montreux Jazz Festival is held in Switzerland Nessa is founded by Chuck Nessa in Chicago John Coltrane dies Paul Whiteman dies
1968	The multimedia collective Black Artists' Group (BAG) is formed in St Louis Evan Parker and Derek Bailey form the Music Improvisation Company Anthony Braxton, a member of the Chicago Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, launches "creative jazz" with For Alto Saxophone Miles Davis employs electric piano and electric guitar for Miles In The Sky Wes Montgomery dies Sackville is founded by John Norris and Bill Smith Gunther Schuller's "History of Jazz" is published
1969	Miles Davis launches jazz-rock fusion with In a Silent Way Manfred Eicher founds the ECM label in Germany FMP (the Free Music Production) is founded Coleman Hawkins dies
1970	Anthony Braxton forms Circle with pianist Chick Corea, double-bassist Dave Holland and drummer Barry Altschul Albert Ayler dies at 34 Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley found Incus
1971	John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra introduces a strong Indian element into jazz Enja (European New Jazz Association) is founded by Horst Weber and Matthias Winckelmann in Germany Louis Armstrong dies
1972	Barry Guy founds the London Jazz Composers' Orchestra Steeple Chase is founded by Nils Winther
1973	Herbie Hancock's Headhunters becomes the all-time best-seller of jazz music
1974	Duke Ellington dies Hat Hut/Hat Art is founded by Werner Uehlinger in Switzerland
1976	Derek Bailey founds the Company Black Saint is founded by Giovanni Bonandrini in Italy
1977	Errol Garner dies Roland Kirk dies Creative Music Productions is founded in Germany
1979	Charles Mingus dies Stan Kenton dies Gramavision is founded by Jonathan Rose Soul Note is founded by Giovanni Bonandrini in Italy
1980	Bill Evans dies
1981	Mary Lou Williams dies
1982	Thelonious Monk dies Fred Anderson opens the "Velvet Lounge" in Chicago
1983	Earl Hines dies Herbie Hancock's Rockit is the first single by a jazz musician to reach number one in Billboard's pop charts
1984	Count Basie dies
1985	Kenny Clarke dies
1986	Benny Goodman dies
1987	Jaco Pastorius dies The "Knitting Factory" club is opened by Michael Dorf
1988	Gilles Peterson coins the term "acid jazz" Gil Evans dies Chet Baker dies
1989	Roy Eldridge dies Woody Shaw dies
1990	Mel Lewis dies Sarah Vaughan dies Dexter Gordon dies Art Blakey dies
1991	Stan Getz dies Miles Davis dies
1993	Sun Ra dies Dizzy Gillespie dies
1994	Joe Pass dies
1995	Don Cherry dies at 59 Don Pullen dies Tzadik is founded by John Zorn
1996	Gerry Mulligan dies The first Vision Festival is held for avantgarde jazz
1997	Stephane Grapelli dies Tony Williams dies Ted Gioia's "The History of Jazz" is published.
1999	Art Farmer dies Milt Jackson dies Lester Bowie dies
2001	Alyn Shipton's "New History of Jazz" is published
2004	Steve Lacy dies at 69
2005	Derek Bailey dies at 75 The "Katrina" hurricane devastate New Orleans
2006
2007	Piero Scaruffi's "A History of Jazz Music" is published Leroy Jenkins dies at 75 Max Roach dies at 83 Joe Zawinul dies at 75 Oscar Peterson dies at 82
2011	Paul Motian dies at 80 Sam Rivers dies at 88
2014	Charlie Haden dies
2015	Ornette Coleman dies
2016	Paul Bley dies 2018	Cecil Taylor dies 2020	McCoy Tyner dies 2021	Chick Corea dies 2022	Pharoah Sanders dies 2023	Wayne Shorter dies Carla Bley dies 2024	Patty Waters dies Irene Schweizer dies